by David C. Terr

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Title: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Stirling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, James Earl Jones, Tracy Reed

Release Date: Jan. 29, 1964

Running Time: 94 min

Genres: Comedy, Thriller

 

Commentary
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, usually known simply as Dr. Strangelove, is a hilarious black comedy about a madman who starts World War III. While the plot is quite serious, the acting and script are quite humorous, making the movie very funny as well. Peter Sellers plays the following three roles:

• Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, a British exchange officer
• President Merkin Muffley, the American president
• Dr. Strangelove, the sinister German nuclear war expert

Plot Summary
Delusional US Air Force General Jack D. Ripper (Hayden) decides to strike the Soviet Union with nuclear missiles in order to stop what he believes is a Communist plot to sap the essence of American's body fluids by fluoridating their water supply. Unbeknownst to Jack D. Ripper, the Soviets have built a doomsday device which will destroy all life on Earth in the event of a nuclear attack. Captain Mandrake figures out the recall code based on Jack D. Ripper's doodles and is able to recall all but one plane carrying the nuclear missiles. The remaining plane, The Leper Colony, is able to reach its target. The pilot, Major "King" Kong (Pickens), a wild Texan, even ends up riding one of the missiles down to its target. This launches the doomsday device, which destroys nearly everyone on Earth except for a lucky few thousand who are able to escape in mine shafts and plan World War IV.

Social Relevance
Dr. Strangelove was released only two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, which many people thought would trigger World War III. The threat of nuclear war had been on everyone's minds since the beginning of the Cold War.

The character Dr. Strangelove, played by Sellers, is a combined satire of RAND Corporation strategist Herman Kahn, Nazi SS officer turned NASA scientist Wernher Von Braun, and "father of the hydrogen bomb" Edward Teller. Sellers' role of President Merkin Muffley was influenced by presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson.

Movie Clips

Here's the original trailer.

 

Here's a clip of Dr. Strangelove discusses survival plans for humanity, following the nuclear attack.

 

Here's the apocalyptic ending to the tune of "We'll Meet Again".